Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s involvement in child protection proceedings in relation to the complainant’s grandchildren. This is because the events happened too long ago, and I see no reason why they could not have complained sooner. Furthermore, some of the issues raised have been subject to court proceedings.

The complaint

1. The complainants, who I will call Mr & Mrs C, complain about how the Council’s children’s services dealt with safeguarding proceedings in relation to their grandchildren.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered Mr & Mrs C’s complaint and the Council’s response. I sent a draft version of this decision to Mr & Mrs C and invited their comments.

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What I found

Background

6. In 2018, Mr & Mrs C shared a family home with their two grandchildren and the children’s parents. In December 2018, Mr & Mrs C’s grandson was taken to hospital with a head injury.
7. The Council started safeguarding proceedings through the family court and the two children were placed with foster carers as ‘looked after children’, under section 20 of the Children Act 1989. The Council considered Mr & Mrs C and the children’s parents amongst those that may have caused the injury to the child, because they shared a home.
8. On 3 January 2020, the courts dismissed the proceedings, the Section 20 agreement was ended, and the children were returned to their parents.

Complaint

9. On 7 January 2021, Mr & Mrs C complained to the Council about how they were treated during the safeguarding proceedings. They said:
• The Council’s communication with Mr & Mrs C had been poor.
• Their contact with the children had been reduced without explanation.
• The Council had accused the family of breaching supervision arrangements, leading to the Council applying to the courts to withdraw its approval for a family holiday with the children.
10. The Council said it would not investigate Mr & Mrs C’s complaint as it expects complaints to be made within 12 months, and it was therefore late.

Assessment

11. I will not start an investigation into Mr & Mrs C’s complaint about how the Council’s children’s services treated them during their grandchildren’s safeguarding proceedings. This is because the events happened too long ago.
12. The events Mr & Mrs C complain about happened between December 2018 and August 2019. They say that they did not complaint sooner because court proceedings were ongoing. However, these ended in January 2020 and Mr & Mrs C still waited a further year to complain to the Council. Having considered this, I do not consider there to be any reason why they could not have complained sooner.
13. Mr & Mrs C’s complain about the issue of contact with their grandchildren, in particular the Council’s decision to withdraw approval for a family holiday. However, issues of contact are for the courts, and I note that the decision to withdraw approval for the holiday was something that was considered in court. The law says we cannot investigate any matters that have been subject to court proceedings.
14. I understand how strongly Mr & Mrs C feel about the steps taken by the Council, but I will not start an investigation for the reasons detailed above.

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Final decision

15. I will not investigate this complaint. This is because the events happened too long ago and because some of the matters have been considered in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman